


the cards we were given were never good  (we’ll always get to play again)

by inkstained_pages



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Death, Explosions, Gen, I'm Sorry, Karl Jacobs Needs a Hug, Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Nuclear Weapons, Poetic, Sad Ending, Time Travel, Time traveller Karl Jacobs, Unedited lol, but also not?, but i like it, if that makes sense, it has a very poetic ending, it turned out differently than i expected, like mmmmm angst, mmmmm sorry bout this, no beta we die like everyone did in the lost city of mizu, that was a good stream tho, this one is sad ;-;
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:00:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28985244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkstained_pages/pseuds/inkstained_pages
Summary: Ash drifted through the air. The sky was grey and dark.Karl looked out on the SMP, or at least what remained of it.A large crater was all that remained.Or,In which Karl enters a reality where Tommy is killed and Tubbo does not take it well. And when a man with nukes is heartbroken and has nothing left to lose... well. You can guess the rest.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 30
Kudos: 288





	the cards we were given were never good  (we’ll always get to play again)

**Author's Note:**

> KARL’S STREAM THO  
> JUST THE LORE  
> AND THE HILARIOUS INACCURACY  
> AND THEN THE ENDING  
> THE PAIN  
> KAJFHAKEUFHOAEUFHAJLEJLIEFHOAUE  
> ;-;  
> i’m fine  
> wrote this at 1 am right after Karl’s stream and thus why it may make no sense  
> also unedited cuz im lazy as shit <3  
> enjoy :)

Karl popped out of the portal and into the new reality he had chosen at random. He looked around cautiously before stepping out, closing the swirling rip in the space-time continuum behind him.

He had landed in a snowy spruce forest, and Karl briefly remembered that Snowchester was built in a biome like this.

But it was quiet. 

Too quiet.

There was no wind. No gentle breeze like Karl was used to. The trees towered tall and looming above him, but they were still. Not a single branch moved at all. There were no birds chirping, nor were there any other sounds that indicated forest life.

It was a sunny day out, with not a cloud in the sky, but Karl had learned long ago that the weather almost never matched the mood of the world around it. 

He plodded through the thick spruce trees, footsteps light against the crunchy snow. He had learned the skill of stealth years ago, when he first started time travelling and learned the hard way that he needed to be sneaky, especially in realities where people could recognize him.

Karl wondered how far he had jumped. It didn’t look like the past, if the vague tracks and signs of men were anything to go by. As far as he knew, no one had explored this area until Snowchester was built.

But it didn’t seem to be too far in the future either. In most futures that Karl had visited, the world around them was changed drastically. This reality however, looked almost exactly the same as Karl’s original one.

He hummed thoughtfully, before venturing on.

It wasn’t long before he heard shouting, and not the good kind.

His heartbeat spiked and his worry rose. It didn’t sound good at all.

He ran as quickly and quietly as he dared, making it to the source of the noise in less than a minute.

He peeped out of the trees and saw Snowchester standing beautiful and clean in the sun.

What he saw next was anything but clean.

Tubbo stood at the end of one of the docks, tears streaming down his face, eyes alight with fury and grief. Niki and Jack stood a little ways away. Niki looked alarmed, and Jack looked overjoyed, though Karl could see the fear in his hunched shoulders and trembling hands.

“Tubbo,” Niki said harshly. “You need to stop what you’re doing right now. This won’t solve anything at all.”

“I don’t care!” Tubbo shouted, the tears not stopping. He held something in his hand; a small card of some sort. Beside him was a complicated looking machine, that somehow looked menacing. “You killed him! You murdered him for no reason!”

“We had a damn good reason for doing it, and you should be thanking us!” Jack shot back. “We finally got rid of that stupid pest that only ever caused anyone trouble!”

Karl’s heart sank even lower. If he was right about what was going on, then he didn’t think this would end well. But he remained in his hiding spot, not willing to ruin the timeline by interfering  _ just _ yet. Time was a delicate thing, and the slightest error in judgement could send a world spiralling.

“How can you even say that, Jack!” Tubbo sobbed. “He was your friend too! You guys had fun together, you laughed together!”   
Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t fool yourself Tubbo. Tommy was a selfish coward who only knew how to look after himself. He killed me once, and he would’ve done it again if we hadn’t gotten to him first! He ruined the server, don’t you see!”

Karl’s eyes widened in horror, but not surprise. He had a suspicion that the subject of the yelling match was Tommy, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to vomit. There were plenty of timelines where Tommy died, where Tubbo died, or where they both perished together. 

Far too many. It seemed that for every reality that someone else died in, those two had ten times that amount. It was like the world was  _ trying _ to slaughter the two young boys.

Or maybe it was just the people.

“No, he didn’t ruin this server!” Tubbo screamed. “People like you did! People who turned to  _ violence _ and  _ murder _ , instead of working out their problems like normal human beings! People who take out their anger on fucking  _ sixteen-year-olds _ who have had nothing but pain in this life! What is  _ wrong _ with you?!”

He heaved for breath, silent, raw fury radiating off of him in waves. 

“It was for the best, Tubbo.” Niki stepped forward, speaking softly. It was a stark contrast to the previous shouting. “You knew Tommy, better than anyone here. You knew how reckless he was, how prone to violence. This was the only way the server could be at peace.”

Tubbo shook his head brokenly and sobbed harder, burying his face in his hands. “You don’t understand, no one ever  _ fucking _ understands!” He whirled around, baring his teeth in a snarl. “All anyone ever does around here is  _ hate!  _ They hate and they hate and they hate and they hate! No one ever forgave anyone for anything, except for Tommy! You know how many people he forgave, in the hopes that they would love him in return? Do you?”

Niki and Jack were silent.

“Let me tell you,” Tubbo snarled. “When Wilbur dragged us into a war that we had no business being in, what did Tommy do? He forgave him, stepped up and became Wilbur’s right hand man. When Wilbur and him were exiled and Wilbur lost his damn mind and blew up the nation? He forgave his brother for everything and made peace with his ghost. When Phil showed up, only to kill his brother and then ignore Tommy for the other one? He forgave Phil in the hopes that Phil would acknowledge his existence again. When Techno blew up the nation and tried to kill Tommy? He forgave him and looked to him in exile, hoping beyond hope that they could be brothers again. When I exiled Tommy and gave him over to a madman all for the sake of a failing country, you know what he did?” Tubbo’s voice wavered. “He forgave me and saved me and gave up his discs for me. He chose me over the damn things when I chose a nation over him.”

“Does that sound like a selfish coward to you, Jack?” Tubbo asked coldly. “Does that sound like someone who deserves to die for his mistakes? To die because the punishments given to him were never meant to help him, but to break him and he refused to be broken? TELL ME HOW THAT’S FAIR!”

Niki and Jack did not speak, frozen in horror.

Karl was frozen too. Of all the things he wished he could prevent, it would’ve been Tommy and Tubbo’s pain. Of all the things that should’ve never taken place, it should’ve been that.

“I can’t take this anymore.” Tubbo’s voice was quiet now, barely a whisper in the air. “This place isn’t home, not anymore. You’ve destroyed it in the hopes of fixing it, doomed it and convinced yourselves you saved it. How does it feel to be the heroes now?”

He turned and inserted the card he carried into the machine. It beeped twice and gave a whir.

“Tubbo, what are you doing?” Jack’s voice shook, and Niki grabbed his arm.

“There’s no hope left for this place.” Tubbo looked at them with blank eyes that were still filled with tears. “I thought maybe we could build some, but now that Tommy’s gone, now that you’ve  _ killed _ him, there is nothing left.” 

He pressed a button on the machine and gave a humourless smile.

“Inventor override - code: mellohi.”

The machine beeped again, before a robotic voice sounded. “Override initiated, launching missiles. T-minus: 5:00, 4:49, 4:48-”

Jack and Niki’s eyes both widened in panic. 

“What are you doing?!” Jack shouted, lunging for the machine. He shoved Tubbo away, but Tubbo let him. 

Tubbo just laughed, and Karl thought it sounded like a broken man.

“You can’t stop it, Jack. I’ve sent every nuke we have in here out there. In about five minutes this entire server is going to be nothing but a crater in the ground.”

Niki yelled, voice dripping with horror. “Tubbo why would you do something like this?!”

Tubbo shrugged, the laughter fading and being replaced by a calm melancholy. “I told you already; there is no hope left for this place. It’s better to let it burn completely then let something ugly rise from the ashes.”

Jack grabbed Niki’s hand and tugged her away. “Come on, we have to try and warn the others.”

They sprinted off, and Tubbo shook his head wearily. “They’ll never make it in time.” He turned away from the machine and took something out of his inventory; a jukebox.

He placed it a little ways away and then slid a disc in. It was mellohi, Karl realized with a start, and was likely one of  _ the _ discs. Tubbo sat down and leaned against the jukebox, a sad smile coming onto his face.

“Sorry about this, Tommy,” he whispered. “But I think you’ll understand. This world was just never meant to be.”

Karl stepped lightly out of the trees and walked over to where Tubbo faced the sea, his back turned to him. He stepped onto the docks and made his way over to Tubbo.

Tubbo looked to the side and saw him approaching, and his smile turned a little more genuine. “Oh, hey Karl.”

“Hello Tubbo.” Karl sat beside his friend. 

“I’m really sorry about this, actually,” Tubbo said, completely genuinely. “I would have liked to save some of the people here, but like I said, it’s best to let the whole place burn to the ground instead of letting something ugly rise from the ashes.”

Karl nodded, outwardly pretending to understand, but inwardly crying out in grief and frustration. The pain Tubbo had endured had driven him to do this, and it could have been completely avoided.

He vowed he would find a way to fix all of this.

But for now, he needed to lay this future to rest, along with the people inside it.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” Karl said softly. “And what happened to Tommy. Neither of you deserved any of it.”

“No,” Tubbo responded, tone equally gentle and light. “But life has a funny way of giving all the good people the bad things and all the bad people the good. I suppose all we can do is accept the cards we are given and go from there.”

He gazed out at the cold sea and the setting sun, the sad, sad smile still on his face. “This is just the end of the deck. Maybe we’ll get to play again another day.”

“You will,” Karl whispered, putting an arm around Tubbo’s shoulder. “You will.”

The world exploded into white light, and everything vanished.

~ ~ ~

Karl blinked open his eyes, and found himself sitting in the same spot he had been before the explosion occurred.

The whole area around him was gone, nothing left but a crater and ash floating through the air. There wasn’t anything in sight for miles, just destruction and death. The sea had dried up, and the forests were gone.

Karl sat on a tiny patch of stone that surrounded him, likely due to his immunity from such things thanks to his time travelling abilities. It was odd that he didn’t wake up back in his library, but sometimes this happened when there was still something left to do.

Karl shifted, and that’s when he realized there was a body beside him, leaning on his shoulder.

He looked down and saw Tubbo. His face was pale and his lips were blue, and there was obviously no breath left in him. His proximity to Karl must’ve transferred some immunity from the blast to his body, but not his life.

Karl’s eyes welled with tears, and he maneuvered Tubbo’s body to lie down on the stone. His eyes were closed, but there was still a smile on his lips. He looked at peace, and Karl realized that this timeline was right in it’s own regards.

There were always ways to achieve peace, even if the means themselves were violent. Karl knew that better than anyone, having seen countless futures and pasts.

He lifted Tubbo’s body gently in his arms and picked his way through the wreckage. Eventually he came to a less crater-y part of the world and set Tubbo down carefully.

Karl took out a pickaxe and dug a small grave for Tubbo. He placed his friend’s body inside it, then covered it with stones. He took out a knife and carved words into the rock.

_ Tubbo _

_ Finally at peace _

He stepped back and sank to his knees, tears finally falling unbidden down his face.

So many futures filled with nothing but emptiness and brokenness and  _ pain _ . Always so much pain. It permeated the server like a disease, poisoning the minds of some, while it destroyed the light of others.

Karl vowed long ago that he would fix this, and he intended to keep that promise.

He stood up, dried his tears, and opened a portal back to his own world. He would have to write this down before he forgot. 

And he would not forget this lesson. 

He would not.

He stepped into the rip and it snapped shut with a crack.

The world he left behind remained silent, ashes drifting through the air, skies grey and lifeless.

Nothing remained of the life that once flourished there, except a few words carved into stone, words that told a story of pain and agony and fear, but above all, a story of rest that was finally found.

  
  
  
  
  


And far away in a distant reality, the cards were dealt anew and the game began again.

Tubbo blinked open his eyes.


End file.
